Hiding Out
by Daisy Rhine
Summary: Maria runs to Bowser's Castle just what could she be trying to get away from and what shenanigans could happen while she is there? Sequel to Valentine conversation. Female Mario. I don't own Super Mario Brothers Nintendo does.
1. Hide Maria

Chapter One: Hide Maria 

Here is a new fic for you all.

This was spurred by an idea one of the reviewers from Valentine Conversation. Think you so much.

Maria: long brown haired in a high pony tail, blue eyes, tan, red short sleeve shirt with a mid thigh skirt style overalls on, red knee high socks, white shoes, and over course a red cap with the letter 'M' on it.

I hope you all have a Jesus filled day.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Maria ran to the door knocking on it then turning to look behind her for what felt like the hundredth time, unsure if the man followed her or not. When the door opened she rushed in and closed the door without looking at who answered. While she relaxed against the door she heard someone running off somewhere, "Why? Why today of all days? Her father must hate me or at least wants to punish me."

"Who are you talking about?"

Opening her blue eyes Maria smiled at the people that were staring at her. Face burning red she explained, "Peach's father, he invited King Bernard over and didn't tell his daughter. She found out by over hearing her father talking to said man then rushed to help me sneak out through a small window in the kitchen." The Plummer sighed getting off the door, "Since he knows where I live I couldn't very well go there. Then I remembered Bowser said it was okay that I could hide out here when Bernard showed up so I booked it here praying that none of his men saw where I was headed."

Bowser's kids laughed as Windy giggled out, "Yes, dad did say that." The shelled female smiled at the female plummer, "It's nice not to have to fight you and that you make dad happy."

Maria blushed again and rubbed the back of her head, "I can't be making him that happy."

"Are you kidding?" Blue eyes looked at Bowser Jr. who ran up and hugged her leg, "He has a hard time paying attention because of you."

While pushing her skirt so that it wasn't showing the young child her underwear Maria's blush got brighter as Ludwig laughed out, "Your letters make his day. He loves reading what you write him."

Windy took pity on the female plummer and grabbed her arm pulling her along, "Come on, I want to show the room my dad told you about. I've been so excited to show you the results."

Maria smiled patting Jr. on the head softly as he backed up and let go of her leg and allowed the other female to drag her. "Your dad has been telling me about your eagerness to do so."

Wendy nodded, "I can't help it. The moment he told us his intentions my siblings and I were so happy so we put a lot of effort in giving you a safe haven. Especially after hearing about Bernard." The shelled female gagged, "He is such a pig. I've heard about him from the other koopa troopas and goombas. Did you know he tried to ask for my hand by letter to my father?"

Maria's jaw dropped, "Are you serious?"

"Completely. My father was so furious, as his pervyness is well known, and proceeded to ban him from his land. He can't even make it past the secret path guards if he found them."

"Ugh, his kingdom is doomed to failure if he can't change his ways." Maria gagged along with Windy, "I feel bad for his kingdom."

The shelled female nodded in agreement, "Yep." She grinned when they reached their destination, "Were here." The human watched as the other push the door open. Surprise took over her face as she saw what was behind the door. The walls in the large room were navy blue with white and red accents in the furniture or décor. The bed had dark blue covers with white decorative pillows. "I kept it simple since you don't seem like some of my friend who likes a more lavish look."

"Thank you." Maria said picking up a picture of her and Bowser eating a picnic in a secluded field. "Which one of you snuck this?"

"Larry, he was the one dad would least expect."

The brown haired female laughed, "I'm surprised to hear that he doesn't expect any of you to follow. You are all so bright in colors and he seemed pretty adamant you guys like to bug him."

Wendy laughed, "You would think." The two girls looked at each other and laughed again. The koopa took Maria's hand and showed her the closet, "We had some clothes made that was similar to the outfits you wear and we made sure to stick with red like colors."

"So your dad told you about that did he?" The dark haired female laughed.

"Or we were being ourselves and bugged it out of him." Wendy replied with a wink.

Maria was once again tackle hugged on her leg by Jr., "Something tells me I need to get used to that." She leaned down and picked her boyfriend's youngest up, "You seem like quite the handful."

Jr. laughed and hugged her content with being in her arms. Even as she was amused Wendy patted her youngest brother's shell saying, "He's been eager to meet you since dad said he was going to start trying to capture you. We knew at that moment something was different and we were waiting for world shattering news."

Maria turned to look around the room again and froze seeing Bowser staring at her in shock. His expression said that he didn't know what to say. Smiling she said, "Hey, sorry to barge in like I did."

"Ah, it's okay." He cleared his throat then said, "After Morton came to tell me you were here, Iggy explained what happened when I came out and saw you and Wendy were not in the entryway."

Jr. leaned his head on the human's shoulder and closed his eyes. This caused blue eyes to glance at the young male with a fond smile. "He's lighter than he looks."

Bower nodded in agreement as he walked over and Wendy walked out of the room, "He's been interested to meet you on more friendly terms."

"So Wendy said." Maria giggled looking up at the king, "What were you doing before I interrupted? I hope I didn't interfere with anything important."

"You didn't. It's boring stuff I can finish later." He placed a hand on his girlfriends shoulder, "Are you hungry? I can only imagine he showed up before you were supposed to eat with Peach's father."

Maria looked down at her overall skirt with a sigh, "Yeah, he insisted that I wear something nice, said something about some visiting dignitaries. Now I know one of them was Bernard." She rolled her blue eyes, "I should have known by the way he said it he had some kind of plan. Heck, Peach nor I suspected anything."

Bowser let out huff of anger which Jr. copied making the brown haired female laughed in amusement. Smiling he indicated to the door, "I was going down for lunch soon myself. How about you join us? The kids would love to have you."

"I'd like that." Maria followed Bowser through the hall still holding Jr. who had gotten comfortable and was not keen on letting her go till they got to the dining room. "How have things been sense my last letter?"

"Good for the most part. I've had a few alliance offers and none look good for my kingdom. I've also had offers for Wendy's hand." He rolled his eyes, "I hate when they ask me. Not only does she have a boyfriend but I'd rather she meet them in person and the two of us make the judgment together."

"It must suck having a daughter for that reason."

"Nah, my boys have had the same offers come through however it just angers mewhen they ask for Wendy's like I'm the only one that can make that choice for her. I just wish they'd treat her like she can make her own choices. I raised her to be an independent young lady." Bowser draped an arm over Maria's shoulders making sure to not bump his youngest in the process, "I also got a letter from my ex-wife."

Blue eyes looked at Bowser in surprise, "You're kidding, tell me it isn't something cliché."

"Nothing like that. She just wanted to tell me she was getting married and she wanted Wendy in the wedding and the boys to attend." He laughed amused, "All said no."

Maria laughed causing Jr. to open his eyes and look at her as she spoke, "Wow, that's surprising after I heard what happened."

"She also asked if I found someone myself." He rolled his eyes, "I just sent a letter saying congratulations and the kid's response. She has no business knowing my personal life."

The human shook her head, "Wow, nosy much."

"Yeah, that woman just likes to try and fail to be a mom." Jr. said getting raised eyebrows from both adults. Looking between the two of them he said, "That's what Ludwig likes to say."

Bowser gave a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I was about to lose it if you heard that anywhere else."

Maria continued to look at the youngest trying to find the right words as her boyfriend led her to the dining hall. Praying she wasn't speaking out of turn she said, "Just because she was disrespectful to your father, your siblings and you doesn't mean you should do the same." This gained her confused looks from both Bowsers, "What you should do instead is show her what she missed out on. That means you should show her what a great kid you are and how you've been a great help to your dad." Bowser senior smiled as he took that in, "I don't mean do it just despite her or rudely. You and your siblings were raised by your dad alone and all eight of you ended up really good. I've seen single parents and it can be hard on any one of them. So if you see her be respectful, the last thing she needs is ammo against your dad."

Jr's. eyes widened, "You mean like her trying to take us away?"

"Yes." Maria replied with a small nod, "You do want to stay with your dad right?"

"Yes, he's the best dad in the world."

"Then be respectful and she has less ammo." The brunette blushed when she realized that the other kids had heard her too. She looked at Bowser senior, "Sorry, I just don't want you to lose them."

Bowser smiled at her and she could tell he was thinking about an old conversation the two of them had. "It's fine, I never thought of it that way myself. I'll have to keep that in mind now."

Maria placed Jr. on his feet so he could run to his chair that was next to an empty chair next to the head of the table. As she looked at the table she could tell the older siblings were thinking about what she had said, "So…"

"Your seat is next to me." Bowser said leading her to the empty seat next to Jr., "This way we are all on the same end of the table."

The blue eyed female laughed lightly, "Then thank you I appreciate this." She took her seat feeling awkward as the servants walked in to serve the food. She was not used to this treatment. She and Luigi usually set the table and made food together.

"You'll get used to it." Morton said with a smile, "You just need time."

"That I do." The brunette looked at Jr. moving his food around on his plate.

Bowser chuckled, "He hates when his food is touching. Once he separates them he will feel better about eating it."

Maria giggled amused, "Sounds like Luigi when his stake touches his mashed potatoes. Makes him cringe when I mix it."

"What is Luigi like?" Lemmy asked then taking a bite of his food.

"Well, what do you know so far?"

"That he's easy to scare and not as nearly brave as you."

"He's more of pacifist, and is not the biggest fan of fighting. However when it comes down to it he will for what he views as a good cause. Other than that he's really competitive in sports. That's when he is fearless." Maria replied with pride showing in her eyes.

"Really?" Roy asked and when she nodded he gained a large smile. "I'm so asking him to play a game of soccer with me."

Maria laughed along with Bowser and the others, "Mind if Larry and I join?" Morton asked after swallowing his food.

"Awesome, we can have teams."

While the three were making plans Bowser turned to his girlfriend, "Will he accept?"

"He will. It's been a while since he's had a good completion. The mushrooms, well other than Toad, don't try to play games with him so he's bored a lot of the time."

The larger reptile blinked, "I'm sorry, do any of the mushrooms, other than Toad and Peach, treat you like a normal person and not untouchable heroes?"

"No, not really." She pushed her food around, "They just…I don't know."

Wendy shook her head, "That's sad, you seem perfectly normal to me."

"Awe, thank you Wendy."

Jr. laughed causing the girls to look at him then laugh as well when the boy threw a wadded up paper towel at his dad. The large reptile's yell of surprise caught the rest of the boys attention and watched in curious fascination as they had all been distracted. "Jr. you better run when we're done eating." The smallest reptile's laugh turned to giggles as he tried to make himself seem smaller and hide using Maria who was still laughing along with the boy's sister. "Cause I'm going to make you pay you little stinker."

The rest of lunch was filled with much conversation and laughter as Jr. continued to torment his father by throwing random but non damaging items at him. The boys seeing the promising expression their dad had been giving their youngest brother startled to silently plan on how to protect their Jr. Maria was amused by this cause she recognized the look from when she would mess with her own brother. Wendy seemed pretty content with the idea of saying out of it but did give her brothers encouraging expressions when her dad wasn't looking at her. When lunch was done Jr. took off running with his dad right behind him while the older brothers went in different directions to plan and coordinate their attack.

Maria and Wendy wondered off into the living room and chatted with each other enjoying when any of the boys ran in the room. Jr's. cries of laughter could be heard in the air as well as Bowser's yelps when any of his older boy's traps activated on him. "I have to say you look really pretty in your outfit."

"Thank you, that means a lot. My brother helped me find the material to make it."

Wendy seemed surprised, "You made this? You so have to teach me how to sew. I'd ask the seamstress but they always look so busy."

"I'd be happy to; it's really fun once you get the hang of it."

"What else do you like to do?"

"Garden and cook, I find both to be very relaxing." Maria replied, "Since I don't have a legitimate job like I did where I came from I have a handful of hobbies I do to pass the time."

"Sounds like you need it, I can how bored you would get if you had nothing to do." The pink koopa agreed with a nod of her head, I myself have to be occupied because I honestly don't know what I want to do."

"It seems like you still have time to figure it out so if you want you and I can think of other things and see if you click with them."

"Yes, I would like that. To be honest as much as I don't know what I want to do I know I want it to be made with my own hands."

Maria smiled, "Sounds like you have an idea of what you want. So what's your boyfriend like?"

Wendy smiled answering even though Jr. ran through causing his dad to fall into another trap. Bowser shook off the feathers and bolted after his youngest. "He's amazing, dad approves of him and my boyfriend doesn't care that I want nothing to do with my dad's title. He's very supportive of my quest to find the right thing I want to do. I can't believe I'm so lucky to have him."

"This boy sounds lucky to have your dad's approval."

"No to have both of our approval." Wendy said with a nod crossing her arms, "I value my dad's opinion. So we both talk about it and decided together what is the best path."

"You know your dad talks about you and your siblings a lot when we are together." The pink koopa grinned happily, "You guys are his life."

"He's our life." The daughter looked away with a smile, "He could have gave up on us when mom walked away but he didn't and there is nothing we won't do for him."

"Including taking over a kingdom?" Maria asked with a small smile.

The female koopa laughed lightly, "Precisely."

Bowser walked into the room and on the couch nearby. The girls could tell he had been hit with water balloons and many other traps that caused him to be a little tired. Especially chasing after his youngest. "You looked wiped."

He looked at his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow, "It's not easy chasing down Jr. when he has help." The father sighed causing his daughter to laugh behind her hand, "I'm happy the worse one was distracted."

Blue eyes locked onto Wendy eyes, "Really?"

"Yes, her traps are the worst."

"Where's Jr.?" The plummer asked.

"I got him trapped in his room with his brothers." Bowser laughed, "They have to find their way out with the puzzles I left behind."

Wendy sighed, "And we still have no idea how he does it when he is literally the one chasing anyone of us all over the place." She got up and walked off, "I'm going to see if I can help them from the outside."

"You'll fail." Bowser called out making his child sigh again as she continued to head in the way of her brother's room. "Hopefully that will keep them all occupied for a little while."

Maria laid on her belly with her legs swaying in the air thus causing her boyfriend to freeze but she spoke having learned on their last date that it was the simple things she did that caused him to do that, "So do you do an escape room with them often?"

Bowser nodded his head then replied, "Yes, I guess you could say that this is my way of getting alone time and teaching them to get out of sticky situations."

"Better to learn at home than actually in danger."

"Exactly." The male sat up looking at Maria causing her to blush as he said, "I can't get over how pretty you are in that outfit." Blue eyes looked down embarrassed and fiddled with the small frays on the couch cushion. She was still having a hard time when he either flattered or complemented her. She was tired of reacting the way she did but she couldn't help herself. Hearing him move closer to her she peeked a glance to the side to see Bowser sitting next to the couch and taking her hand, "I'm glad you got to meet the kids. They've been bugging me to bring you home."

"Well, I guess we can thank Bernard for me bring here." Maria said with a small laugh.

The large reptile laughed lightly, "I guess we can." He reached and played with a piece of her hair. This was something he started doing recently. Maria could remember him saying how the texture of her hair was different than his. "I can't wait to see his face when he realizes who he lost you to."

Blue eyes rolled amused, "I'm sure he'd have some kind of panic attack and try to declare war against you. Peach says he's been kind of antsy with the east gearing up and tensions rising between the two."

An orange eyebrow went up, "Seriously that's the kingdom King Terrence is worried about? He could beat the west in his sleep." She looked at him confused, "The east has been trying to get an alliance with me. I knew he was about to go to war but I didn't know who. Now that I know it's the west I'm questioning if he's ever done any reconnaissance."

Maria giggled, "Peach has been telling me that Bernard has been trying to get an alliance but her father doesn't want part of a fight unless his people are actually in danger."

"Sounds like me. Honestly I have no reason to be in a war, besides I'd rather fix my relations with the mushroom kingdom and that won't help if I'm fighting them."

Maria smiled and held his hand with both of hers, "I'm glad that you stopped. I always wondered why you kept on attacking."

Bowser sighed and scratched the side of his head, "I honestly don't know why I started all I know is I just continued because I kept failing. We all know why I ended up doing that in the end." The human smiled with a light blush. "I'm not going to lie, I like when you blush."

The brunette's face went brighter, "Oh my gosh why?" Even though she could hear him laughing at her reaction she covered her face in embarrassment. She made a sound in the back of her throat. Maria felt she was more flustered than she should be due to her inexperience with boys this way. She wondered if other girls ever felt the way she did now or if she was just being a little more sensitive. Hearing Bowser's laughing die down she peeked between her fingers, "You're enjoying this way too much."

"I can't help it." The reptile said with an amused expression, "You're cute when you're flustered." Reaching out he pulled her hands down and held them softly.

Giving a nervous giggle the plummer replied, "Thanks."

She could feel his eyes on her as she looked down at their conjoined hands. If she was honest with herself she loved the feeling of his hands in hers. Not only were they rough showing that he was a hard worker, his hands made her feel at peace and safe. Kind of like she could let down all her defenses and let him protect her to his hearts content. Rubbing her thumb against one of his fingers she smiled felling the rough texture. Her mind went back to when she first told Peach and Luigi about her and Bowser dating. While her brother had passed out in shock the princess merely shook her head and said that she had a suspicion why he had changed targets for what seemed like no reason. "What are you thinking about?"

"When I told my brother and Princess Peach about our relationship." His hands tightened causing her blue to meet his dark ones, "My brother was in shock but he was okay with it. Princess had some suspicions after Waki Waki, due to you constant change in targets but she was happy for us." The human smiled at her boyfriend, "She hopes this brings your kingdoms closer."

Seeing the conflicted of emotions cross his face made her worried but before she could speak he took a deep breath and said, "That's not the reason I'm dating you. I actually like you and don't want you to be used as a token to bring peace. You're not in a position like Princess Peach is."

"I know, and that's not what Peach means." He raised a fluffy eyebrow prompting her to continue. "Her father is trying to do that very thing with King Bernard. She doesn't want to force me into that situation. However due to my friendship with her and us dating people will see it that way even if she tries to deny it." Maria sighed, "It's hard to explain but she really does want us to be happy."

Bowser sighed, "You're right she would never try that after all she does to get you out of the castle when Bernard shows up. Has Bernard ever tried to purpose to her?"

Maria nodded, "I was told she turned him down loudly in public. Her father was vastly embarrassed I hear." Bowser burst out laughing and collapsed to the floor in his hysteretic laughter. She grinned and watched him laugh, "Did you just picture her doing that in the square or elsewhere?"

"A ball with…a bunch…of other royals." The reptile laughed out, "The image of her father's…embarrassment is too brilliant."

The plummer giggled in response as she too brought up her own vision of Peach's father being embarrassed by his daughter, "It is kind of funny to envision."

Though he still looked like he wanted to laugh more the koopa calmed down a bit, sitting up and looking at his girlfriend. His grin was so contagious that Maria's smile got bigger, "I can only imagine his face when he finds out the two of us are dating." The plummer burst out laughing at the image her mind came up with, "And him sounding like him trying to treat you like he has, it will be all the more sweeter when we admit it."

Laying on her back blue eyes looked lovingly at the man she was growing to love more and more, "It will be nice when that happens. I won't feel that unneeded pressure."

"And whatever he offers…" Bowser took her hand in his own, "…I will accept nothing from him if he attempts to make a treaty using you. You are your own person and deserve to be treated as such."

"Thank you." Maria replied giggling as Jr. jumped up and cuddled into her side. Turning to her side she let go of the king's hand and held the youngest reptile to her while the rest of the kids piled in the living room both Morton and Ludwig jumping on their dad. Laughing the father turned and started wrestling them. As she watched Maria couldn't help but look forward to what the future held.


	2. Safe House Bowser

Chapter Two: Safe House Bowser 

Here is the next chapter for you all.

Review Replies:

 **multyfangirl20:** I have a list in where the series is going and I thank you for your continued support of this story. It means a lot to me.

 **IvaderDrey14:** Thank you.

 **Cyan Quartz:** I am glad you are enjoying the story. Trust me there are more to come. : )

End Replies:

Maria: long brown haired in a high pony tail, blue eyes, tan, red short sleeve shirt with a mid thigh skirt style overalls on, red knee high socks, white shoes, and over course a red cap with the letter 'M' on it.

I hope you all enjoy and have a Jesus filled day.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Bowser sighed looking down at another request for a treaty between him and King Terrance. The war that he was about to have seemed to be really riling him up and make him desperate to make a treaty with him. Rolling his eyes he pulled out a pen and started to write his response. He had been turning him down the moment the first letter started appearing asking for his assistance. Bowser's kingdom was finally in a sense of peace and the last thing he wanted was to ruin that by going into a war. It didn't even help that the man wasn't telling him what kingdom he was going to war with. For all Bowser knew it was the mushroom kingdom and that was the last kingdom he wanted to fight. After all he had been doing to try and fix the rift he had caused between the two of them.

As he was writing his response he could have sworn he heard the doors to the castle closing with a strong force. Shaking his head he went back to writing his response to the request. It was likely one of the people from the kingdom to the east being turned down once again. Terrance was really getting on his last nerve with his constant bugging. Once done with his response he went to read what he had written so that he didn't doom his own people in the process and get into a war at a different time but his door opened and he could see Morton standing in the doorway. "Please tell me that the person Terrance sent didn't force his way into the castle or give you another letter for me to read."

Morton laughed, "Nothing like that." He walked in prompting his father to put the page he had intended to read down.

"So what is going on?"

Morton's smile got bigger, "Maria's here." Bowser felt his heart rate pick up just hearing her name, "I think she ran here and she looked a little worried."

Bowser stood up from his chair and made his way around his desk worry gnawing at his bones, "Was she hurt?"

Morton shook his head, "No sir, she was fine. She just seemed out of breath and a little panicked."

Bowser gave a sigh of relief, "I'm happy to hear that she is okay. Do you have any idea what could have caused her panic?" He had an idea of what that could be but he wasn't for sure that was the issue at hand. He felt he didn't know her well enough to be able to say for sure what was wrong.

The young shelled male shook his head, "No sir, I didn't stay long enough to be able to hear that part. I'm sure that others heard and Maria could tell you."

Bowser nodded in agreement and the two continued on their way to the entryway. When they got there they froze only seeing Iggy standing there as if he was waiting for them. "Where did Maria go?" Bowser asked looking at his other child in the eye.

Iggy turned to his father, "Maria, went off with Wendy." He walked closer to his dad uncrossing his arms, "Apparently she was running from that pervy king from the west."

Bowser pinched the bridge of his nose, "Of course I was right in my first thought process." Morton and Iggy looked at him waiting for him to continue. Dropping his arm to his side he asked, "Did Windy say where she was dragging Maria off to?"

"Wendy said she wanted to show Maria to the room we all helped put together for her." Iggy laughed, "Maria was very amused."

Bowser laughed, "I don't doubt it. In one of my letters to her I told her how eager your sister was to show her the room." He shook his head, "Why don't you two go off and go find the rest of your siblings. Lunch should be ready soon."

The boys nodded and ran off to do just that while Bowser himself went off in the direction where Maria's room was. It was close his room but closer to Wendy's. He had suggested that room due to it not allowing him to be too tempted with her there and his daughter was a very light sleeper. This way Maria would also be in the most protected part of the castle for those hours. When Bowser and his kids slept the guards that protected that part of the castle where his absolute best. No one, with the exception of the plummer of course, could beat them. They were also koopa's that Bowser trusted with his life. As he got closer he could foot steps running up behind him as well as the girls talking and enjoying themselves. Looking behind him he watched as his youngest ran right by him and straight to his girlfriend's room.

"So your dad told you about that did he?" Bowser could hear Maria laugh out. The reptile's head tilted as he wondered what she was referring to.

Bowser Jr. seemed to stop at the door and peek in. He then ran in after his sister said, "Or we were being ourselves and bugged it out of him." Bowser rolled his eyes, if there was one thing his kids excelled in it was bugging him to no end.

Hearing his girlfriend give a soft sound he could only assume that Jr. tackle hugged the plummer just like he like to do with his sister. "Something tells me I need to get used to that. Bowser peered into the room and froze seeing the beautiful plummer holding his child in her arms. His heart wanted to burst from his chest from sight. "You seem like quite the handful."

The youngest laughed and hugged the human happily while his daughter looked amused as she had spotted him out of the corner of her eye. Patting her brother's shell she said, "He's been eager to meet you since dad said he was going to start trying to capture you. We knew at that moment something was different and we were waiting for world shattering news."

Maria at that moment turned and saw him while he was still in shock. His mind scrambled to try and find what to say but his mind had come up blank as all he could focus on at that moment was how attractive the plummer looked holding his youngest in that outfit he loved for her to wear. She smiled, "Hey, sorry to barge in like I did."

"Ah, it's okay." Bowser forced himself to reply then clear his throat so he didn't look like an idiot shaking his head to clear it. "After Morton came to tell me you were here, Iggy explained what happened when I came out and saw you and Wendy were not in the entryway."

The father's dark eyes locked onto his youngest who laid his head on the human's shoulder and closed his eyes in content. Maria's eyes looked down as she smiled, "He's lighter than he looks."

Bowser nodded walking over with Wendy heading out of the room as he did. "He's been interested to meet you on more friendly terms."

"So Wendy said." Maria said with that cute giggle of hers that he didn't at all feel foolish for accidentally repeating what his daughter had stated not long ago herself. "What were you doing before I interrupted? I hope I didn't interfere with anything important."

He shook his head, "You didn't. It's boring stuff I can finish later." He placed his hand on her shoulder, "Are you hungry? I can only imagine he showed up before you were supposed to eat with Peach's father."

His girlfriend sighed and looked down at here overall skirt, "Yeah, he insisted that I wear something nice, said something about some visiting dignitaries. Now I know one of them was Bernard." She rolled her blue eyes, "I should have known by the way he said it he had some kind of plan." Bowser could tell that if she wasn't holding Jr. in her arms at that moment her arms would have flown into the air. "Heck, Peach nor I suspected anything."

In a moment of irritation the large reptile let out a huff of anger, to which his son copied. This only seemed to make his beautiful plummer all the more amused. Just seeing her smile caused him to do the same. Pointing to the door he said, "I was going down for lunch soon myself. How about you join us? The kids would love to have you."

"I'd like that." Maria replied following Bowser out of the room and into the hall with Jr. still in her arms. "How have things been since my last letter?"

"Good for the most part. I've had a few alliance offers and none look good for my kingdom." His dark eyes rolled, "I've also had offers for Wendy's hand. I hate when they ask me. Not only does she have a boyfriend but I'd rather she meet them in person and the two of us make the judgment together." Inside he was seething in anger but he tried to quell it so that he wasn't ruining Maria's time with him.

"It must suck having a daughter for that reason."

"Nah, my boys have had the same offers come through however it just angers me when they ask for Wendy's like I'm the only one that can make the choice for her." He held back a sigh, "I just wish they'd treat her like she can make her own choices. I raised her to be an independent young lady." Bowser draped an arm over his girlfriend's shoulder being sure not to bump his child who she was holding, "I also got a letter from my ex-wife."

She looked at him in surprise, "You're kidding, tell me it isn't something cliché."

Bowser shook his head, "Nothing like that. She just wanted to tell me she was getting married and she wanted Wendy in the wedding and the boys to attend." He laughed when he remembered his kids reaction and quick response when he read that part of the letter, "All said no."

Maria's laugh caused Jr. to open his eyes and look up as she spoke, "Wow, that's surprising after I heard what happened."

"She also asked if I found someone myself." Bowser rolled his dark eyes, "I just sent a letter saying congratulations and the kid's response. She has no business knowing my personal life."

"Wow, nosy much."

"Yeah, that woman just likes to try and fail to be a mom." Bowser blinked confused before looking at his youngest. He was concerned the little reptile had over heard him complaining about his ex like he had been recently. Jr. looked between the two then said, "That's what Ludwig likes to say."

The relief that the father felt was deep. As of recently he had been getting a good handful of letter from his ex-wife. Inwardly he felt like she was bragging to him about how awesome the new guy was. He also wondered if when the two of them had kids would she leave the man just like she had left him. Since she had been trying to be in contact with him he had been using a few choice words he didn't want Jr. to learn. Ludwig has been one of three kids that had walked in on him grumbling to himself about his ex. "Thank goodness, I was about to lose it if you heard that anywhere else."

Glancing at Maria, Bowser tilted his head trying to figure out what she could possibly be thinking about. He knew from the last time that her blood family had been jerks so a conversation like this could impact her if the wrong words were said, "Just because she was disrespectful to your father, your sibling and you doesn't mean you should do the same." Both he and his child looked at the plummer for further explanation. "What you should do instead is show her what she missed out on. That means you show her what a great kid you are and how you've been a great help to your dad." The large reptile smiled hearing that and letting that information wonder around in his head in thought. "I don't mean do it just despite her or rudely. You and your siblings were raised by your dad alone and all eight of you ended up really good. I've seen single parents and it can be hard on any one of them. So if you see her be respectful, the last thing she needs is ammo against your dad."

His child's eyes winded in fear, "You mean like her trying to take us away?"

"Yes." The plummer replied with a nod of her head, "You do want to stay with your dad right?"

Jr. nodded his head vigorously, "Yes, he's the best dad in the world."

"Then be respectful and she has less ammo." The brunette looked up blushing. It was clear that she had not realized that they had made it to the dinning hall. Her blue eyes peeked over to look at her boyfriend, "Sorry, I just don't want you to lose them."

He couldn't help but smile at her, he just loved how caring she was despite her bad situation where she came from. "It's fine, I never thought of it that way myself. I'll have to keep that in mind now."

Bowser watched as Maria placed Jr. on the floor so he could run to his seat at the table though he did end up going one seat over. The plummer on the other hand looked around like she had no idea what she should be doing. "So…"

"Your seat is next to me." The king quickly said leading her over to sit next to him at the table, "This way we are all on the same end of the table." That and he didn't want her to feel even more awkward than she already was feeling. It was clear she was still not used to the life that happened in a castle.

Maria laughed more than likely to help herself feel less out of place, "Then thank you I appreciate this." Taking his seat Bowser leaned on his elbows as he watched the serving staff placed their food down.

"You'll get used to it." Morton said making his father smile lightly. His children were more observant than they let on sometimes.

"That I do." The brunette replied.

He chuckled when he noticed Maria watching Jr. pushing his food around, "He hates when his food is touching. Once he separates them he will feel better about eating it."

This caused the beautiful plummer to laugh gaining an almost evil expression, "Sounds like Luigi when his stake touches his mashed potatoes. Makes him cringe when I mix them."

While Bowser was immensely amused by the thought of her teasing of her brother his son Lemmy asked, "What is Luigi like?"

"Well, what do you know so far?"

"That he's easy to scare and not as nearly brave as you."

"He's more of pacifist, and is not the biggest fan of fighting. However when it comes down to it he will for what he views as a good cause. Other than that he's really competitive in sports. That's when he is fearless." Maria replied with pride showing in her eyes.

Roy instantly perked up hearing that, "Really?" Bowser was laughing on the inside as not only did Maria confirm what she had just said but Roy's smile grew, "I'm so asking him to play a game of soccer with me."

The plummer laughed along with Bowser as he lost control of himself when his kids laughed especially when Morton asked, "Mind if Larry and I join?"

"Awesome, we can have teams." Lemmy said getting excited.

While Lemmy, Roy, and Morton made their plans for Luigi he turned to his girlfriend, "Will he accept?"

She nodded her head, "He will. It's been a while since he's had a good competition. The mushrooms, well other than Toad, don't try to play games with him so he's bored a lot of the time."

The large reptile blinked mentally trying not to blame the mushrooms for being absolute idiots, "I'm sorry, do any of the mushrooms, other than Toad and Peach, treat you like a normal person and not untouchable heroes?"

"No, not really." The human pushed her food around, "They just…I don't know."

Wendy shook her head, "That's sad, you seem perfectly normal to me."

Looking both amused and thankful Maria said, "Awe, thank you Wendy."

Bowser turned to take a bite of food when his youngest started giggling for some unknown reason. Putting his fork down he turned to see what the little reptile was up to when a wadded up paper towel hit him in the face causing him to yell out in surprise. He could hear the girls laughing at what had just happened but he decided that he wasn't going to deal with that since he had a mischievous child he needed to focus on. "Jr. you better run when we're done eating." The laughter that the boy had turned into giggles as he tried to hide from his dad's vision. "Cause I'm going to make you pay you little stinker."

The rest of lunch was filled with much conversation and laughter as Jr. continued to torment his father by throwing random but non damaging items at him. The boys seeing the promising expression their dad had been giving their youngest brother started to silently plan on how to protect Jr. Bowser kept the rest of his kids in his peripheral vision as they made their plans. He was happy that Wendy wasn't interested in doing what the rest of the boys were doing, though he would have to find a way to get back at her with for encouraging her brothers somehow on a later date. For now he'll let her enjoy the fact another female was in the building. When lunch was done Jr. took off running with his dad right behind him while the older brothers went in different directions to plan and coordinate their attack.

He didn't dare try to see where Maria and Wendy went as he knew that if he let Jr. out of his sight that he would lose him and he'd have a harder time catching him than he already was. The youngest was laughing as he ran to stay ahead of his father. Following the small reptile through a doorway he found he was pelted with small pillows that his children had lying around here and there. Not allowing the trap to throw him off he continued to follow the ever elusive child. If there was one thing Jr gained from his father, other than his appearance, it was the ability to actually sneak and get by without being seen. "I'm going to get you and make you pay you little brat."

The child screamed cheerfully as he run past Larry who threw a pail of water into his dad's face. Bowser roared and continued running after the small reptile. Behind him he heard Larry grumbling to himself before running off to plan something else. With Larry's back to him he tossed something into Jr's. room and continued running after the smaller child. For the next several minuets he continued to chase down his youngest. As they would run past the girls in the living room he would catch snip bits of their conversation. They really seemed to be enjoying themselves as they talked. He was happy that Wendy was able to talk to another female other than her other friend that she had around sometimes. He wasn't the biggest fan of her friend and it didn't help that said friend had set her eyes on Ludwig like he was going to still take over the kingdom. Ludwig also had a girl he had been dating over the last two weeks. He was still getting to know her so Bowser hadn't met her yet personally but as soon as he felt ready he knew that Ludwig would bring her to the house so he could meet her.

When he had the right moment his tail went down and tripped Ludwig to where he rolled into the youngest reptile's room and door closing behind him when one of the maids closed the door as she walked by. The staff was used to the family doing this they had started helping the father get his children stuck and get other things in the room when none of the children were looking. Out of all the kids only Wendy had figured out that the staff had been helping their dad. The boys had never really put their full effort into finding out how their dad pulled off his elaborate tricks in their rooms. It didn't help that the staff just looked like they were just doing their job. It wasn't long before Larry, Morton, and Iggy had been tripped into their brother's room leaving Lemmy and Roy to be tricked.

"Oh no." He could hear Roy say somewhere nearby, "Who all is stuck?"

"I think he got everyone but you, me and Jr." Lemmy replied making Bowser laugh loudly.

"Dang it! We didn't pay attention again Wendy is never going to tell us how she figured out how she knows how dad is pulling off all of these stunts." Roy complained.

"I wish she would just tell us." Lemmy said before going quiet just as Bowser pounced and caught the youngest, "Wait…Jr. went quiet."

"That's right boys." Bowser said throwing his youngest into his room and closing the door before any of the caught boys could get out. "I'm coming after you two next." He could hear both boys taking off in different directions making him laugh. "Please, you two will be a piece of cake compared to your baby brother."

Running in the direction he heard Roy take he laughed seeing the young male yell in surprise, "What in the world? How did you find me so fast?"

"I've raised you for years I learned a lot about you over those years. Now get over here." Bowser replied chasing the male down ignoring the water balloons being pelted at his back. "Ahhh! Lemmy save me!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Lemmy replied as another water balloon hit the father in the back of the head. "He's ig…OH NO!"

Lemmy tried running the opposite direction but Bowser turned too quickly and pinned him to the floor. "Nice try turkey." Throwing Lemmy over his shoulder he made his way back to Jrs. room where he could hear the boys inside trying to find the clues needed to get out. Quickly opening the door he threw Lemmy in then tripped Roy inside then closed the door and locked it from the outside, "Now you seven have to find the proper way out or I'll hunt you all down again and make you do it from one of the dungeons."

"Awe, come on dad." Ludwig replied banging a fist softy against the door, "Not again."

"Nope you know the rules. You have until Jrs. bed time to get out of the room correct way or tomorrow you are all doing the one in the dungeon escape rooms." The boys complained again as he walked away from the door and went to the living room he had seen the girls in when he had been chasing Jr. Going to the empty chair he laid on his belly with a sigh of relief.

Maria was smiling as she said, "You looked wiped."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow in the corner of his eye he could see Wendy fighting off a smile. "It's not easy chasing down Jr. when he has help." The father sighed causing his daughter to laugh behind her hand, "I'm happy the worse one was distracted."

Blue eyes locked onto Wendy mischievous ones, "Really?"

"Yes, her traps are the worst." Bowser said glaring playfully at his daughter who was trying hard not to giggle amused.

"Where's Jr.?" The plummer asked looking at her boyfriend.

The question caused the king to laugh, "I got him trapped in his room with his brother's. They have to find their way out with the puzzles I left behind."

Though looking happy that she was not in the same situation as her brother's Wendy sighed, "And we still have no idea how he does it when he is literally the one chasing anyone of us all over the place." Bowser smiled happy that she was still keeping the secret from her brother's. Getting up she made her way out of the living room, "I'm going to see if I can help them from the outside."

Smiling he called out in a teasing voice making his daughter sigh again, "You'll fail." Waiting till she was far enough away he said, "Hopefully that will keep them all occupied for a little while."

Looking over to fully focus on his girlfriend his jaw dropped as she laid on her stomach and leg her legs sway above her. It really bothered Bowser that she had no idea just how tantalizing she was. Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "So do you do escape room with them often?"

Bowser nodded his head then replied, "Yes, I guess you could say that this is my way of getting alone time and teaching them to get out of sticky situations."

"Better to learn at home than actually in danger."

"Exactly." Bowser replied as he sat up and looked over the female plummer appreciatively. Seeing her blush at his attention made him smile and speak. "I can't get over how pretty you are in that outfit." Her blue eyes looked down embarrassed and fiddled with the couch cushion. He loved her embarrassed reactions. He knew she hated it but he loved that his words had this effect on her. Getting up he made his way over and sat on the floor next to the couch she was on as she peeked over to look at him. Taking her hand in his he said, "I'm glad you got to meet the kids. They've been bugging me to bring you home."

"Well, I guess we can thank Bernard for me bring here." Maria said with a small laugh.

The large reptile laughed as he replied, "I guess we can." Reaching out a hand he took a piece of her hair and played with it. It seriously fascinated him how different her hair texture was to his. It was much softer. "I can't wait to see his face when he realizes who he lost you to."

Blue eyes rolled amused, "I'm sure he'd have some kind of panic attack and try to declare war against you. Peach says he's been kind of antsy with the east gearing up and tensions rising between the two."

An orange eyebrow went up, "Seriously that's the kingdom King Terrence is worried about? He could beat the west in his sleep." She looked at him confused, "The east has been trying to get an alliance with me. I knew he was about to go to war but I didn't know who. Now that I know it's the west I'm questioning if he's ever done any reconnaissance."

Maria giggled, "Peach has been telling me that Bernard has been trying to get an alliance but her father doesn't want part of a fight unless his people are actually in danger."

"Sounds like me. Honestly I have no reason to be in a war, besides I'd rather fix my relations with the mushroom kingdom and that won't help if I'm fighting them."

Maria smiled and held his hand with both of hers, "I'm glad that you stopped. I always wondered why you kept on attacking."

Bowser sighed and scratched the side of his head, "I honestly don't know why I started all I know is I just continued because I kept failing. We all know why I ended up doing that in the end." The reptile then smiled as he said looking at her cheeks, "I'm not going to lie, I like when you blush."

Maria's face went brighter and she hid her face in her hands as she complained, "Oh my gosh why?" For his part, Bowser burst out laughing. His girlfriend was far too cute for her own good. He leaned on the couch as he laughed as he tried to force himself to stop laughing as his poor girlfriend. When he finally did start to calm down he wanted to laugh more as she peek between her fingers saying, "You're enjoying this way too much."

"I can't help it." The reptile said with an amused expression, "You're cute when you're flustered." Reaching out he pulled her hands down and held them softly.

Giving a nervous giggle the plummer replied, "Thanks."

He watched her as she looked at their hands. Goodness her hands were so soft. No one would ever know she was a real hard worker if they never saw her do half the things she had done since she got here to his world. He smiled when he saw a thoughtful expression take over her face. Every expression she made, made him to know what she was thinking. "What are you thinking about?"

"When I told my brother and Princess Peach about our relationship." His hands tightened causing her blue to meet his dark ones, "My brother was in shock but he was okay with it. Princess had some suspicions after Waki Waki, due to you constant change in targets but she was happy for us." The human smiled at her boyfriend calming the worry that had grown when she had said that first line. "She hopes this brings your kingdoms closer."

Immediately he frowned, unhappy hearing that. Seeing the worry that crossed his girlfriends face he knew he needed to explain what he had going through his mind so he took a deep breath before doing so. "That's not the reason I'm dating you. I actually like you and don't want you to be used as a token to bring peace. You're not in a position like Princess Peach is."

"I know, and that's not what Peach means." He raised a fluffy eyebrow prompting her to continue. "Her father is trying to do that very thing with King Bernard. She doesn't want to force me into that situation. However due to my friendship with her and us dating people will see it that way even if she tries to deny it." Maria sighed, "It's hard to explain but she really does want us to be happy."

Bowser sighed knowing she was right, "You're right she would never try that after all she does to get you out of the castle when Bernard shows up. Has Bernard ever tried to purpose to her?"

Maria nodded with a small smile on her face, "I was told she turned him down loudly in public. Her father was vastly embarrassed I hear." At first Bowser just sat there before bursting into a fit of laughter and collapsed to the floor in his hysteretic laughter. All he could picture was Princess Peach in the middle of other royals and dignitaries when King Bernard proposed and her doing her loud way of turning him down. Peach had always been a character, even when he was taking her she was loud when she wanted to be. Maria seemed amused as she asked, "Did you just picture her doing that in the square or elsewhere?"

"A ball with…a bunch…of other royals." The reptile laughed out, "The image of her father's…embarrassment is too brilliant."

The plummer giggled in response, "It is kind of funny to envision."

Though he still wanted to laugh more the koopa calmed down a bit, sitting up and looking at his girlfriend. His grin was so contagious that it caused Maria's smile to get bigger, "I can only imagine his face when he finds out the two of us are dating." The plummer burst out laughing, "And him sounding like him trying to treat you like he has, it will be all the more sweeter when we admit it."

Laying on her back blue eyes looked lovingly at him, "It will be nice when that happens. I won't feel that unneeded pressure."

"And whatever he offers…" Bowser took her hand in his own, "…I will accept nothing from him if he attempts to make a treaty using you. You are your own person and deserve to be treated as such."

She thanked him then Jr. ran into the room making Bowser chuckle. As she turned to her side to cuddle the smaller reptile the other kids came in with Wendy sitting on the other couch with Lemmy and Iggy and the other boys sitting on the floor. Or in Morton and Ludwig's case they jumped on their dad who merely laughed and started to wrestle with them feeling beyond happy that he had this wonderful chance to share his family with the person he loved more than the world itself.


End file.
